You can't expect people to be attracted to watch a poor product in poor surroundings. Wakefield fans have had far more bad news than good news over the period we have been in super league and that has a negative effect on crowd numbers.

Taking your team as an example if we played in a nice stadium and had the squads and decent seasons you have had recently, I would expect it would have a similar effect on our crowds as it did on yours, probably more so.

Have you been dreaming again Jean.
Belle Vue is no palace (understatement) but, wooden seating doesn't exist and the food is comparable to any SL ground.
Standard fayre of pies, burgers, hot dogs and chips or you can sit down and have a 3 course meal before the game.

I know that you like to provoke reaction but, you really should try harder

I still maintain that you should never have been allowed into Super League unless your ground was updated.
Its basically been a tip for years. Yes you have had some improvements, but imo its still a tip.

In which case you'd have had an inaugural SL season comprising of only London & PSG.

At the first licensing round in 2009 you'd have had a SL of only 6 or 7 clubs.
And only 1 or 2 of those who actually own their stadium.

Wakefield, like many clubs, can barely afford to keep afloat, it would seem a stretch to expect them to spend millions they don't have to only upgrade a little a stadium that needs knocking down.

I don't disagree about the fact its not up to standard, but your original post was about our crowd numbers and not our right to be in SL.
FWIW, I have always thought that its what happens on the pitch that should dictate promotion and relegation and therefore we earned our SL place. As far as conditions attached to our membership were concerned, I agree that we didn't do what was expected, but don't forget we got no SL money for the first 2 years as a condition of our being accepted so we were behind the 8 ball from the start financially.

I don't think our past regimes have helped the situation, but I think you can trace some of our well documented past financial issues back to that original 2 year stint with no share of the SL money.

However, we are currently in a position where I am actually questioning whether we deserve to be in SL and whilst Michael Carter is doing his best with very limited resources, looking at a club like Leigh, I am actually somewhat embarrassed at how we compare with them considering we are the SL club.

You've never been to Belle Vue

Maybe they should merge with another club to secure their super league status. Can't for the life of me remember who did this in 1999. Any ideas?

Regards

King james

He may have been watching "a sporting life"

I don't think that Jean actually goes to any games ?

Everyone knows he makes things up. He's just a troll.

You don't know what you are talking about, as usual.

I have been to Belle Vue, on the occasion of London playing Wakefield back in 2003. Before the game, because I was a guest of a prominent Wakefield supporter, I was able to eat in the elite dining facility in the more modern building behind the goal posts. For the game I sat in the stadium's best seats (which were wooden back then) in the stand along the sideline, in the vicinity of Neil Fox and David Topliss. That stand has no elevation so it was a poor view of the game. The toilets forthe general public were shocking and I suspect still are, because I refuse to go back. Only Leigh's then stadium (before LSV) was worse at that time. Leigh have since upgraded their stadium to the 21st century, Wakefield have not.

"elite dining facility".....at Belle Vue?

Now you really are trolling.

It is elite only because it is not open to the general public, and you sit on chairs at tables and eat with knives and forks.
Apparently only club officials, board members and the players and staff can eat there -- along with selected guests, of which I was one.

It was a poor crowd but I can't help thinking we drew the short straw.